


The Sting

by circuit_breaker



Category: Shadowrun: Hong Kong
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 11:27:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9121456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/circuit_breaker/pseuds/circuit_breaker
Summary: Racter shows the protagonist a video.





	

The light was red. Combined with the thick smoke and the noise that the machines made, the place reminded one of Hell. I hadn’t said it aloud, but it kind of suited Racter’s peculiar character: the smirking devil in his very own pit.

And I was foolish enough to step down there all by myself.

He was watching a video this time, I could tell. However, I couldn’t see what the video was exactly about. Sounds couldn’t help me much either, since there were almost none of them to be heard.

Racter turned to look at me.

“Hello”, he greeted, letting out even more of smoke into the air. How much smoke could fit into such a limited space, I wondered while I nodded at his direction.

“Is this a bad timing?” I asked.

“No”, he replied. “I was just starting to watch this one documentary – have been doing it only for the past minute or so.”

“A documentary?”

“Yes…” he glanced at the paused video. “You could join in if you like. This is bound to be quite interesting.”

I shrugged and sat next to him, and he let the video proceed.

There was a cockroach. Apparently, this documentary wasn’t about technology as I had suspected at first, but biology. A calm and composed voice of a man began:

“A cockroach is let into the restricted area of the parasitoid wasp.”

The cockroach was going around the new surroundings in a box of glass. It tried to climb the walls, but they were too slippery for its legs to grasp.

“The parasitoid wasp has noticed her target…” the man continued reporting the events. And true enough: from the midst of small plants, there came a predatory being. Her surface glistened in metallic green, as though it had been a piece of fine jewelry. She was little, much smaller than the cockroach she was approaching.

“… The wasp attacks the cockroach which tries to escape…”

Racter and I followed how the two insects fought on the sand.

“… However, the wasp manages to sting the roach. Its legs become disabled, and soon the wasp stings it another time: this time straight into the brains. This second sting calms the cockroach down: it doesn’t want to flee anymore.”

I thought that the wasp was going to devour the prey. That wasn’t the case.

Instead, the predator took her victim into her little cave. There, she planted her eggs into the cockroach. The audience was shown how little larvae grew inside the cockroach. In the end, they ate their way out of the host. I watched through all that, meanwhile the man’s voice proceeded explaining every detail of this cruelty.

Finally, the video stopped.

“Fascinating”, Racter simply said.

“Fascinating? That was _disgusting_ ”, I commented, in turn. “Racter – is there any particular reason why you wanted to watch that?”

“Besides mere curiosity? Well, yes, my friend. I’m using this as a source of inspiration for Koschei’s new parts”, he answered.

The idea made me ill.

“What for? Isn’t he capable enough with his lasers, bombs, hidden chainsaws and who-knows-what?” I questioned.

“Oh, it should be fairly obvious! Wouldn’t it be _practical_ if we could assault a victim yet kill them only later on?” Racter asked. His expression was clearly baffled.

“Wait, wait, _wait_. The parasitoid wasp planted eggs inside her victims. What would Koschei plant? Not his small robotic monster babies, I’d hope!” I said and clawed at my hair. He caressed his chin and looked a bit away from me.

“Even though I would use a different kind of a vocabulary, that idea does have its own charm”, Racter said. Before I could react, he chuckled and stopped me. “Now, now. No need to become agitated… It is better for your own safety, at the very least. Koschei doesn’t really take it all too well when people become hot-headed around here.”

And that was when I noticed Koschei. The drone was staring straight at me, and he had revealed a bit of his chainsaw blades. The sight startled me enough to not fight against Racter when he pushed me back onto my seat. He sat next to me.

“For your information, I’ve been planning on small injectable nanobots. They follow through the veins alongside blood, until they start to expand. The victim will most likely die because of inner bleeding. These nanobots could be designed to take control of the host’s body. They could alternatively come completely out of the body and take on other functions. If one likes the simple approach, they could also explode…” Racter talked until he got lost into thought. “Mimicking the sting of a parasitoid wasp might not be a bad idea. I’ll have to mull it over for some time.”

“You are doing it again, aren’t you?” I asked. He snapped back into the precise moment and place.

“Ah, what am I doing once again?” he asked.

“Using me as a bouncing board”, I stated.

“Oh. _That_. My apologies if I made you feel that way… That wasn’t my intention. I can become engrossed into some ideas, and when that happens, I may forget to consider whether the other party is as interested as I am of the subject. This topic disgusts you, no? – and thus, you’d prefer to skip it altogether. Might I ask, though: what exactly makes these techniques any worse than putting a bullet or two into the target’s skull?”

“It’s fairer to kill them as quickly as you can. Your methods would turn them into devices or tools”, I answered. “Furthermore, becoming stretched from the inside sounds like one hellish way to go.”

“Why would it be any fairer? The sting doesn’t hurt – well, not much, at the very least. The victim will think that they managed to escape successfully, so they won’t fear their eventual end. They also retain full control of their bodies and thoughts as long as they live. The stretching is a very quick process. It might be even more merciful way to go than, say, a slash of a chainsaw or a bullet in one’s gut”, Racter said. “And, such a death would make our work easier, too. Consider an enemy who is injected with these nanobots. That person can get very close to others on their side. They explode, causing damage to the enemy ranks; moreover, it would manage to create a good distraction for us to use.”

I breathed in.

“Am I right with assuming that you are trying to get my blessing with all this talk?” I asked. He smiled at me.

“You might be. I am interested in developing these new parts for Koschei, and it would be a _pleasure_ to be able to use them on the field. I’m not going to lie: I would’ve gladly designed and implemented them in utter silence. However, I also realize that using these parts could cause a _certain_ tension among our team members… And that isn’t desirable during actual missions”, Racter confessed.

I imagined especially Duncan’s reaction. He already found Racter a highly questionable character and had suggested removing him from the team. There was no doubt that this would’ve been the last straw. Even though I could understand Duncan’s perspective, I also found Racter useful for many missions.

“In other words: First, you want me to approve of your plans. Then, you’d want me to warm others to the idea of your new invention.”

“You _are_ better at convincing others”, Racter said with a shrug. “They trust you more than – what was it again – _the_ _creepy Russian guy in the basement_?”

“Ha. I’ll need some time to convince even myself of this”, I gave out a dry laugh. “Let’s say that I’ll _consider_ your idea. I need at least a goodnight’s sleep before making any decisions.”

Racter seemed satisfied enough with that answer.

“Very well, my friend. I suppose that will do for now. I assume that you’d like to go to rest, then? It is quite late.”

I nodded and stood up. Koschei was still looking at me, but he had calmed down once again. Even so, I kept him in my vision as I walked past him and to the stairs. I got up, went into my room and crashed onto the bed, drained by the weight of moral questions.


End file.
